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| by Erik Wait |
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Unlike all of the previous chapters of this Systematic Theology, the issues of the millennium and the Book of Revelation and not specifically addressed in the Reformed Confessions and Catechisms. While many Baptist, charismatic, and other evangelical churches may requires its clergy to hold to a particular eschatological perspective, most Reformed and Presbyterian denominations do not require subscription to a specific view of the millennium or interpretation of the Book of Revelation.
Due to the influence of Dispensationalism, most evangelicals today are firmly committed to the idea that an earthly millennial age will begin immediately after our Lord Jesus Christ’s Second Advent. Since Dispensational Premillennialism is so dominant in American churches many who encounter historic Protestantism for the first time are quite surprised when they discover that all of the Protestant Reformers and the entire Reformed and Lutheran traditions are either Amillennial or Postmillennial.
According to J. Dwight Pentecost the entire Dispensational system rests on several essential presuppositions; (1) a “literal interpretation” of the Scriptures, (2) “the church and Israel are two distinct groups with whom God has a divine plan,” (3) “The church is a mystery, unrevealed in the Old Testament. This present mystery age intervenes within the program of God for Israel’s rejection of the Messiah at His first advent” and (4) “This mystery program must be completed before God can resume His program with Israel and bring it to completion.” [1] Unfortunately Dispensational Premillennialism has so dominated Christian bookstores, radio, and television with end-time speculation and as to who the Antichrist is that the Post/Amillennial positions, which Dispensationalist John Walvoord admits are the historic protestant views, are never given their fair due consideration. [2]
There are several factors that affect one’s view of the millennium such as one’s hermeneutical method and understanding of the identity of Israel and the Church. [3] Classical Protestantism has always held that in order to properly interpret Scripture one must read with the analogi fidei (the analogy of faith), meaning that Scripture must interpret Scripture. Therefore, we should avoid seeking to interpret Scripture via the newspaper, CNN, or the latest geopolitical crisis which has lead popular end-times enthusiasts to document every move of the European Economic Community and endless speculation as to the identity of the Anti-Christ.
Secondly, a given passage or book, such as The Revelation, must be viewed in light of its contemporaneous events and circumstances. Therefore its symbols should be interpreted in light of the conditions that existed when the book was written.
Thirdly, the entirety of Holy Scripture is to be seen as progressive revelation so that the latter books give light to the former. Consequently the Old Testament is interpreted in light of the New Testament and not vise versa. In the Old Testament we have types and shadows which see their fulfillment in the New Testament. For example, the entire sacrificial system was a type of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and all the prophets were a shadow of the Messiah who was to come (Luke 24:27). Yet, the language of the Old Testament must be clearly understood otherwise you will not recognize the language of Jesus’ prophetic statements in the Gospels or John’s use of symbolic imagery in The Book of Revelation. So, while we are to interpret the Old Testament in light of the New Testament we are to read the language of the New Testament with an understanding the cultural and historical background of the Old Testament.
In addition one must bear in mind the genre of the text; is it a narrative of history, poetical literature, parabolic, or apocalyptic? Just as it is wrong to treat history as only an allegory, as do many liberals, so too it is wrong to interpret apocalyptic literature in a wooden literal sense.
Finally, one must bear in mind it is always wiser to first interpret clearer passages and then proceed to the more obscure. Having laid a foundation for interpreting the Word of God let us consider the most popular method held today by evangelicals, Dispensational, in comparison to the historical protestant method. Leading Dispensational writers claim to use the so-called “literal” method of interpretation as Charles Ryrie states:
“Dispensationalists claim that their principle of hermeneutics is that of the literal interpretation...The prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the first coming of Christ - His birth, His rearing, His ministry, His death, His resurrection - were all fulfilled literally. There is no non-literal fulfillment of these prophecies in the New Testament... The Dispensationalist claims to use the normal principle of interpretation consistently in all his study of the Bible...The non Dispensationalist position [in interpreting prophecy] is simply that the literal principle is sufficient except for the interpreting of prophecy. In this area, the spiritualizing of prophecy must be introduced. The Amillennialist uses it in the entire area of prophetic truth: The covenant Premillennialist uses it only partially. This is why the Dispensationalist claims he is the only one who uses literalism method consistently.” [4]
Dispensationalists go on to accuse non Dispensationalists such as Amillenialists and Postmillennialists of using a spiritualizing method which, according to them, provides no external controls other than one’s own basic theological system. [5] While I shall argue that the above notion is false, to make matters worse many popular Dispensationalists have laid a barrage of ad hominem attacks which attempt to equate non Dispensationalists with liberalism or Roman Catholicism. At its lowest point Hal “Late Great” Lindsey labels two-thirds of official Christendom as demonic and heretical:
“Amillennialism...became a philosophical basis for anti-Semitism. Amillennialism teaches that the Church has been given the promises made to Israelites because they crowned a history of unbelief by rejecting the Messiah. Therefore, since this view the Israelites have no future in God’s plan, and since they believe that ‘the Jews engineered the execution of Jesus,’ a subtle justification for the persecution of the Jews resulted...This kind of teaching is demonic and heretical. I am thankful to say that no person who believes in the premillennial view can be anti-Semitic.” [6]
The fact is all millennial groups interpret most of the Bible in the “grammatical-historical” literal interpretation and each group interprets parts of the Bible in a spiritual or figurative way. However, it seems that Premillennialists - especially Dispensationalists - freely use the method while maligning others who do the same things that they themselves do. The question is not who interprets literally and who interprets spiritually but, “What parts of scripture are to be interpreted figuratively and which are to be taken as literal?” This appears to be a tremendous terminological problem. While non Dispensationalists are accused of spiritualizing the Bible by those who claim to be literalists, neither Dispensationalists nor non Dispensationalists interpret Scripture solely literally or figuratively. For example, both Post and Amillennialists believe in a literal, and real, reign of Christ during the millennium. But during this time they believe He is ruling from heaven and is furthering His Kingdom through His Church. This can hardly be twisted to mean that they do not take the Bible “literally.”
It must be noted that Dispensationalism is of recent origin and that all the major thinkers in Christian history have held to either the Post or Amillennial position (Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin), in addition to the great mass of Reformed and Lutheran scholasticism. Dispensationalist support (from Darby, Chafer, Scofield, Walvoord, Feinberg, Ryrie, and Pentecost) can only be honestly described as sectarian and partisan. These men are conscientious and sincere but can hardly rank among the giants of the faith in terms of scholarship. This does not mean that Post/Amillennialism is true but that because of such great historical support the burden of proof lies with the Dispensationalist to prove his case. Having discussed the above, how do Post/Amillennialists interpret the Bible? Floyd Hamilton gives a good concise explanation when he states:
“But if we reject the literal interpretation as the universal rule for interpretation of all prophecies, how are we to interpret them? Well, of course there are many passages in prophecy that were meant to be taken literally. In fact a good working rule to follow is that the literal interpretation of the prophecy is to be accepted unless [a] the passages contain obviously figurative language, or [b] unless the New Testament gives authority for interpreting them in other than a literal sense, or [c] unless a literal interpretation would produce a contradiction of truths, principles, or factual statements contained in non-symbolic books of the New Testament. Another obvious rule to be followed is that the clearest New Testament passages in non-symbolic books are to be the norm for the interpretation of prophecy, rather than obscure or partial revelations in the Old Testament. In other words we should accept the clear and plain parts of Scripture as a basis for getting the true meaning of the more difficult parts of Scripture.” [7]
When Hamilton states, “...unless the New Testament gives authority for interpreting them in other than a literal sense...” are there any examples in the New Testament where a writer interprets a historical event in a figurative or spiritual sense? The Apostle Paul in Galatians 4:21-31 interprets the story of Hagar and Sarah spiritually as he states, “These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants...” The apostolic method of interpretation sees the Old Testament as shadows and types.
The Judgment of Israel and The World in The Book of Revelation
In “The Judgment Of Israel” in chapter 42 we considered the prophecy concerning the destruction of the temple made by Jesus in Matthew 24 in which I pointed out the “time indicators” that told us when the event took place, namely during the generation which was present. Although the Scriptures do not record of the fulfillment of the prophecy, they do indicate the timing, location, and nature of the event. Matthew 24 makes it clear that the Jewish War which lead up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D. was the “coming” of the Lord in judgment and the end of the (Old Testament) age. At this point in this chapter we shall see how the same events are described in the Book of Revelation as well as the identity of the one who made war with the saints, that is the beast whose human number is 666. The Book of Revelation is a rather complex book and I will not cover every aspect of it, but will only refer to those verses that are relevant to our topic.
The Book of Revelation is probably one of the most misunderstood, most speculated about, and most abused books in the New Testament. Because of its highly symbolic genre and the very graphic pictures it presents even non-Christians have been fascinated by it and used it as a source for, creating fictional horror films (The Omen, Rosemary's Baby) and rock music.
Most of the world’s misunderstanding of the book comes from Christian pop-media's self-proclaimed doomsday expert’s speculations, rather than any serious scholarly study of the text. [8] However, since naive evangelicals (primarily Dispensationalists) are preoccupied with playing “Pin the tail on the Antichrist,” Hollywood has taken advantage of their ridiculous notions by creating movies which all the more feed their fear driven conspiracy theories. How so? For the majority of these people, Satan is lord over the earth, rather than Jesus, and every technological advancement in the world is seen as a means of the development of a one-world government to be ruled by the Antichrist. Some even believe that the “Beast” is a computer, hence 666 is a computer code. [9] These same people expect the Church to decline in history and the gates of hell to increase its fortitude rather than the Church trampling them (contra Matthew 16:18) by the authority of Jesus Christ through the preaching of the gospel, baptizing and making of disciples (contra Matthew 28: 18-20). Instead, they are looking for the great escape of the rapture (rather than the triumph of the Church in history) and the appearing of what they think will be the Antichrist and the Beast of Revelation 13:18. However, contrary to such notions, once we consider the original audience of the Book of Revelation, the internal evidence for the timing of the events, and persons described (The Beast), Iron Maiden singing, “...666 the one for you and me. I’m coming back, I will return, and I'll possess your body and I'll make you burn...” in their song “The Number of the Beast” becomes quite silly. As previously argued the primary time indicators are original audience, demonstrative pronouns, personal pronouns of the text, as well as terms such as “soon,” “near” and so forth:
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:1-3)
Clearly the introduction of the book indicates that it is a revealing of Jesus Christ, whom we are to seek, and not the Antichrist. - which is the preoccupation of most evangelicals. Second, the timing of the events described in the book “...must soon take place ...for the time is near.” John is writing to the seven churches (chapters 2-3) and telling them what is about to happen - not to the Church thousands of years later so that they can speculate as to who the Antichrist is and identify him with the morning newspaper. In addition, the timing of the text is further clarified in Revelation 22:6, “And he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.’” The time indicators for the structure of the book are found in Revelation 1:19, “Therefore write the things which you have seen [past], and the things which are [present in John’s time], and the things which will take place after these things [soon to take place after John's time].” [10]
The Structure of the Book of Revelation
The structure of the Book of Revelation is a hotly debated topic and one’s understanding of it will depend on the degree to which you believe it to be speaking of the future and how much of it details events of the past. The Premillennialist believes that the Revelation entails events that are mostly in the future. Consequently, the Premillennialist understands the Book of Revelation to be speaking of historical events up to the end of chapter 4 and the remainder yet remains to be fulfilled the future. The Premillennialist may also assert that the seven churches spoken to are actually a series of seven ages of the church, the final one being that of the Laodicean age in which the church has become largely apostate. The tendency of Premillennialism is to interpret the figurative elements of the text, interpreting them in light of his own era, and to spiritualize the literal elements of the text.
In a similar fashion, the Amillennialist asserts that much of The Book of Revelation depicts events in the future and increasingly so as it unfolds. They view the Book of Revelation as having a structure in which the history of the Church and the events of the first century are described 7 times, each time in greater detail, until the final chapters reveal the future coming of Christ. [11] Hence the structure of the Book of Revelation as a series of 7 seals being opened (Revelation 5:1) and 7 scrolls being unraveled (for the 7 churches cf.. Revelation 1:4; 22:16) and each one gives the same history but with more detail than the prior scroll until the end of history is finally told. Hence, the Amillennialist sees chapters 4 to 19 as describing the history of the church leading up to the second coming of Christ. For example, William Hendriksen argues that The Book of Revelation consists of seven sections which run parallel to each other, each of which depicts the church and the world from the time of Christ’s first coming to the time of his return. This system is known as “an apocalyptic recapitulation” or “progressive parallelism.” [12] The seven sections are divided as follows: (1) chapters 1-3, (2) chapters 4-7, (3) chapters 8-11, (4) chapters 12-14, (5) chapters 15-16, (6) chapters 17-19, and (7) chapters 20-22. As one reads through the book of these seven sections run parallel to each other in addition to revealing a certain amount of eschatological progress. While the final judgment has already been briefly described in 6:12-17, it is not seen fully until the reader reaches 20:11-15. In addition the final joy of the redeemed in the final state is hinted at in 7:15-17, yet it is not until chapter 21 that a more detailed and elaborate description is seen. [13]
In contrast, the Preterist Postmillennialist understands the Revelation not to be primarily about the future of the Church but rather a letter of condemnation (Covenant Lawsuit) of Israel that depicts a series of seven judgments in chapters 4-19 that were fulfilled in 70 A.D. The Lord is pronouncing judgment on Israel for her unfaithfulness by unleashing on her all the covenantal curses depicted in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. This parallels the previous of Judgment of Israel depicted in Ezekiel:
1. The Throne-Vision (Revelation 4/ Ezekiel 1)
2. The Book (Revelation 5/Ezekiel 2-3)
3. The Four Plagues (Revelation 6:1-8/ Ezekiel 5)
4. The Slain under the Altar (Revelation 6:9-11/Ezekiel 7)
5. The Wrath of God (Revelation 6:12-17/ Ezekiel 7)
6. The Seal on the Saint’s Forehead (Revelation 7/Ezekiel 9)
7. The Coals from the Altar (Revelation 8/Ezekiel 10)
8. No More Delay (Revelation 10:1-7/Ezekiel 12)
9 The Eating of the Book (Revelation 10:8-11/Ezekiel 2)
10. The Measuring of the Temple (Revelation 11:1-2/Ezekiel 40-43)
11. Jerusalem and Sodom (Revelation 11:8/Ezekiel 16)
12. The Cup of Wrath (Revelation 14/Ezekiel 23)
13. The Vine of the Land (Revelation 14:18-20/Ezekiel 15)
14. The Great Harlot (Revelation 17/Ezekiel 16, 23)
15. The Lament over the City (Revelation 18/Ezekiel 27)
16. The Scavengers’ Feast (Revelation 19/Ezekiel 39)
17. The First Resurrection (Revelation 20:4-6/Ezekiel 37)
18. The Battle with Gog and Magog (Revelation 20:7-9/Ezekiel 38-39)
19. The New Jerusalem (Revelation 21/Ezekiel 40-48)
20. The River of Life (Revelation 22/Ezekiel 47) [14]
Hence Revelation chapters 4-19 are the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy concerning the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in Matthew chapters 23-24. The Preterist also interprets the book of Revelation as a contrast between two women: the divorced Harlot Israel who is stoned for her unfaithfulness (Revelation 11:8 17:3-6) and the glorious new bride, the Church (Revelation 21:9).
The primary difference between Hendriksen’s Amillennial understanding of this structure and a Preterist Postmillennial interpretation is that chapters 4-19 lead up to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., not the Second Advent of Christ. In Revelation 20 we have the one place that breaks the temporal bounds (nearness) of Revelation to look at the ultimate results of the Judgment of Israel and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. That is, since the Beast (Nero) and False Prophet (Jewish high priesthood) are destroyed in the events leading up to 70 A.D. (Revelation 19:20), their destruction effects the binding of Satan’s power and leads to the unfolding of the long era of “millennial rule” for the martyrs as Revelation 20:4 is God’s answer to the prayer in Revelation 6:9-11. In addition, Preterist Postmillennialists place a greater emphasis on the “time indicators” of the text which depict the events described in Revelation “which must soon take place” (1:2; 22:6). The book then is understood to be primarily describing contemporary events of the early Church, especially the persecution of Nero, and, the pending judgment of the apostate of Israel and destruction of Jerusalem. [15]
The Preterist consequently dates the writing of the Revelation and the completion of the entire canon of Scripture not after 90 A.D., during the reign of the emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus (as do Premillennialists and most Amillennialists), but rather before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and during the tyrannical persecution of Nero. The Book of Revelation then is a revealing of Jesus Christ as the final revelation of God that has come (Hebrews 1:1-2). The faith of the saints has once for all been delivered (Jude 3) and the foundation of the Church has been laid on the rock foundation of the apostles (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 2:19-20). The significance of the destruction of the temple to the Church is that it marks the final end of the Old Testament era, (end of the age) as the New Testament had been completed and the judgment of Christ upon the Jewish nation, upon those who pierced Him (Revelation 1:7). The Gospels of Matthew and Luke speak of the destruction of the temple, but in order for them to serve as a warning to the Church they must have been completed and distributed before its destruction. The Gospel according to Mark, the shortest gospel, is said to be the earliest gospel as it was that of Peter, Mark being his secretary. Luke states that he received his information for his gospel account by investigation (Luke 1:1-3). Since Luke’s Gospel is pre-70 AD, so must have Mark’s gospel if Luke used it as part of his investigation. In addition, Luke writes the Acts of the Apostles after his gospel account and it speaks of Paul as still being alive at the end of the record, and Paul was executed by Nero prior to 70 AD. Therefore, all of Paul’s epistles must have been written prior to 70 AD. The Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of the temple as if it were still in existence, in fact it warns Jewish Christians not to return to the sacrificial system. Therefore it must have been written prior to 70 AD. Likewise, since the Book of Revelation speaks to a contemporary audience who are undergoing the persecution of the Beast (identified as Nero) and it is the final book of the Bible it too must have been written prior to 70 AD. Our conclusion must be that 70 A.D. marks the ceasing of special revelation and the end of the apostolic era, though the Apostle John may have lived to around 90 AD. The Book of Revelation in its historical-redemptive context then is the finalizing of the canon with a transition from the Old Covenant Age and the passing away of Old Israel (chapters 5-19) and a transition to the glorious age of the New Israel, the Bride of Christ (Chapters 20-22).
The Identity of the Beast of Revelation
Having briefly considered the structure of the Book of Revelation and its historical context, let us now look at some of its chief characters often discussed in eschatology:
“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men, And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.” (Revelation 13:11-18)
As we consider the identity of the beast we need to keep in mind the symbolic nature of the genre, for although the beast sounds like a creature out of a Godzilla movie it is actually, “ ...the number of a man” (v. 18). When we read that the one Beast has seven heads, which are seven kings collectively considered, we should not envision a hydra-dragon but rather a political conglomerate. In Revelation 13:1 John states that he, “saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads.” In Revelation 17:10 he states that the seven heads represent “seven kings.” The Beast is portrayed as a kingdom. However, in the same contexts the Beast is spoken of as an individual, as one of the heads, as a particular part of the generic whole. Therefore, John urges his readers to “count [calculate] the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man” (Revelation 13:18).
In Revelation 17 we read a vision of the seven-headed Beast and in verses 9-10 John writes, “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.” Most commentators recognize that the seven mountains represent the famous Seven Hills of Rome. [16] The referent to Rome is alluded to in this vision of the seven-headed Beast. The original recipients of Revelation lived under the rule of Rome, which was universally distinguished by its seven hills. The original readers living in the seven historical churches of Asia Minor and under Roman imperial rule would understand John’s vision as this geographical feature.
We also see that the seven heads has a political referent, “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.” (Revelation 17:10); Nero was the sixth emperor of Rome. Flavius Josephus, the Jewish contemporary of John, clearly points out that Julius Caesar was the first emperor of Rome and that he was followed in succession by (2) Augustus, (3) Tiberius, (4) Caius, (5) Claudius, and then (6) Nero. [17]
John goes on to write, “five have fallen.” These emperors are dead, when John writes. But the verse goes on to say “one is.” That is, the sixth one is then reigning even as John wrote which was Nero Caesar, who assumed imperial power upon the death of the fifth emperor, Claudius, in October, 54 AD. Nero remained emperor until his suicide in 68 AD, a period of over thirteen years. John continues, “The other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.” As the Roman Civil Wars broke out in rebellion against Nero he committed suicide on June 8, 68 AD. John tells us that the seventh king has “not yet come” which was Galba, who assumed power upon Nero's death. But he was only to continue a “short space.” Galba’s reign lasted only six months until January 15, 69 AD. He was one of the quick succession of emperors in the famous era called by historians, “The year of the four emperors.” Thus, we see that while John wrote, the sixth emperor was ruling from the Seven Hilled City which was Nero.
In Revelation 13:18 the number of the Beast is the number of "a man" and that number is “666.” Contrary to modern speculators, John did not have in mind a bar code or a computer chip placed into the heads of people thousands of years later. Rather he used a common means known to Jewish communities for identifying someone and copying texts. For example, for keeping track of a correct copying of the bible each letter of the alphabet was also used as a number and each line in a text had a certain numerical value. If one added up the numerical value of a line and it was not the correct sum, then the scribe knew a copying error had taken place. Likewise, by giving the Beast a number rather than identifying him by name, John could avoid any possible trouble might arise from his book if it were to be read by a Roman. A Hebrew spelling of Nero Caesar's name was, Nrwn Qsr, a first century Hebrew spelling of Nero's name which has the value of 666. [18 ] It may seem strange to expect readers to calculate the value of Nero’s name in Hebrew, but we must keep in mind that The Book of Revelation is a New Testament book that uses Old Testament imagery and symbolism.
Another interesting fact is a textual variant in which some manuscripts read “616.” The numbers 666 and 616 are not similar in appearance in the original Greek, whether spelled out in words or written out as numerals. Therefore, the change must have been an intentional by the copyist. In Hebrew the spelling of Nero's name in a numerical value is 666. But in order to translate the Greek text to Latin and arrive at the numerical value for “Nero Caesar” the number would have to be “616.” [19]
In Revelation 13 the one identified by the number 666 is specifically designated a “Beast.” The Greek word for “beast” (therion) was often used of the wild, carnivorous animals employed in the cruel Roman arenas in which Christians were put to death. Because of its natural association, the term is often quite aptly used figuratively of persons with a bestial nature.
Not only is the word “Beast” employed by John in this passage, but he even symbolically represents this fearsome being with horrible, beastly imagery. This Beast is a compound of such feared and destructive carnivores such as the leopard, bear, and lion. It is universally agreed that Nero was one who was possessed or had a “bestial nature.” Nero was even feared and hated by his own countrymen. His bestial cruelty is evidenced in the writings of the Roman historian Suetonius (70-160 AD), who speaks of Nero’s “cruelty of disposition” evidencing itself at an early age. He documents Nero’s evil and states, “neither discrimination or moderation [were, employed] in putting to' death whosoever he pleased on any pretext whatever.” Suetonius notes that Nero, “compelled four hundred senators and six hundred Roman knights, some of whom were well to do and of unblemished reputation, to fight in the arena.” [20] He was involved in homosexual rape, torture, and ruthlessly killed his parents, brother, wife, aunt, and many others close to him and of high station in Rome. Roman historian Tacitus (56-117 AD) spoke of Nero's “cruel nature” that “put to death so many innocent men.” Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) described Nero as “the destroyer of the human race” and “the poison of the world.” [21]
The Beast is said to “make war with the saints and to overcome them” (Revelation 13:7). In fact, he is said to conduct such blasphemous warfare for a 42 months (Revelation 13:5). The Neronic persecution, which was initiated by Nero in 64 AD, was the first ever Roman assault on Christianity at the end of which he died on June 8, 68 AD, 42 months later. It was only then that the Neronic persecution formally ended as Rome’s attention was turned to the eruption of its own civil war. The Beast not only slays by the sword, but ultimately is to die of a sword wound, “If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.” (Revelation 13:10) Nero did in fact kill by the sword and tradition tells us that Paul died by decapitation by means of the sword. Tertullian credits “Nero’s cruel sword” as providing the martyr’s blood as see for the Church and he urges his Roman readers to, “Consult your histories; you will there find that Nero was the first who assailed with the imperial sword the Christian sect.” [22] Likewise, history records for us that Nero took his own life by the sword. Roman historian Suetonius writes in Nero (ch 49): “Then with the help of his secretary, Epaphroditus, he stabbed himself in the throat.” [23] The internal evidence is strong and the extra-biblical evidence seems very supportive that the Beast is a historical person of the past, not a rising leader in the future. Nero Caesar was the personal expression of the Beast of Revelation.
The Identity of the Antichrist
The subject of this study and our purpose of examining Daniel 9, Matthew 24 in chapter 42 and the Book of Revelation in this chapter is to see their fulfillment in history. Having identified the Beast as Nero one must then wonder if the he is a different person than the one referred to as the Antichrist. Just as there have been a plethora of guesses as to the identity of the Beast, so too with the Antichrist. In fact, they are often spoken of as if they were the same person. For example, the Reformers thought of the, Pope as the Antichrist and the original Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) stated:
“There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ: nor can the Pope of Rome in any sense be, head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and Son of Perdition, that exalteth himself in the Church against Christ and all that is called God.” (Ch. 25.6)
While we might be sympathetic with Luther, Calvin, and Knox and the formers of the Confession, because they were under the threat of death from the Roman Catholic Church, as we shall see the biblical description and historical context of John’s epistles are not speaking of the Pope.
The word “antichrist” appears only in John’s epistles (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7). John’s description of antichrist is altogether different from the speculative description of modem self-proclaimed prophecy experts. The antichrist is described as anyone “who denies that Jesus is the Christ” (1 John 2:22), anyone who “denies the Father and Son” (1 John 2:23), “Every spirit that does not confess Jesus” (1 John 4:3) and, “Those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist” (2 John 7). John’s description of the Antichrist is a theological concept related to an apostasy that was prevalent in his day John did not have a particular individual in mind but rather multiple people who denied the historical Jesus. The word “antichrist” does not appear in the Book of Revelation and the description is distinct from that of the Beast. This is significant since the author who defines “antichrist” for us is John who penned the Book of Revelation.
According to the Bible, Antichrist is not a single individual as John wrote, “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18). In addition, whether there was to be only one or many antichrists, John made it clear that “it is the last hour” for those who first read his letters. John did not describe a period of time thousands of years in the future. It was the “last hour” for his contemporaries. Keep in mind that Jesus had told His disciples years before, John among them, that their generation would see the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem (Matthew 24:1-34). John, writing close to the time when this prophecy was to be fulfilled, described its fulfillment in the rise of “many antichrists,” that is, many who preach and teach a false religious system, the denial that Jesus had come in the flesh (2 John 7). The apostle's knowledge about coming antichrists was probably taken from Matthew 24:24, “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” They had heard that “the spirit of antichrist” was coming. For them, “now it is already in the world” (1 John 4:3). The antichrists that John spoke of have already arrived and it is inappropriate to look for a contemporary rising political leader and describe him as THE antichrist as the fulfillment of John’s epistles just as it is wrong to look for another Messiah to fulfill Isaiah 53 and Daniel 9. Does this mean that the spirit of Antichrist cannot be present in our day? Not at all for false messiahs such as Sun Myung Moon (the leader of the Unification Church) is an antichrist. It does mean, however, that a figure called THE Antichrist cannot be alive somewhere in the world today. Having said this, we still must conclude that John had the time prior to Jerusalem’s destruction in mind when he described the theological climate surrounding the concept of the Antichrist.
An antichrist, therefore, is anyone who “denies that Jesus is the Christ” and anyone “who denies the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). “Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of antichrist” (1 John 4:3). “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; this is the deceiver and the antichrist.” (2 John 7) From these passages we can conclude that it is unbiblical to use the term “the Antichrist” for a present-day or future political ruler. The proper context is theological and pre-AD. 70.
The Identity of the Great Whore Of Babylon – National Israel
For the identity of our next character in eschatology we return to the Book of Revelation and read about the Great Whore of Babylon who persecutes the saints. Futurists have typically understood the Great Whore Of Babylon either as a contemporary counterfeit church, the Roman Catholic Church, the international banking system or any oppressive government that persecutes the Church. Consequently they see it as something to be revealed in our own day rather than one that was judged and destroyed in the past by Jesus Christ in 70 AD.
For example, some have insisted that “Babylon” was a reference to the Roman Empire whose identity as persecutor is now the Roman Catholic Church having been a persecutor of the “saints” (i.e. Protestants). They then argue that the description “the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color” is a reference to the official Vatican colors “and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls” represents the Vatican’s wealth and the phrase “having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations” refers to the inquisitions. Subsequently they insist that Roman Catholics do not pray to Mary the Mother of Jesus but actually “Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots.”
Others have speculated that Babylon The Great is a reference to Communist regimes such as the U.S.S.R. and China while others have seen it simply as “the world” in general with all of its pagan “Babylonian” religions that oppose Christianity.
Some conspiracy theorists assert that the “Beast” is the Federal Reserve and “Babylon The Great” refers to the modern banking system. Therefore the “seven heads” refer to the Federal Reserve Notes that consist of seven denominations for each bill is the “head” of a former American President or in the case of the $100 Ben Franklin, who is the only figure that was not President and therefore these are the seven heads of the beast ($1 Washington, $2 Hamilton, $5 Lincoln, $10 Jefferson, $20 Jackson, $50 Grant, $100 Franklin). Until recently these were all green and gray but now the five dollar Federal Reserve Notes have purple, $10 and $50 Federal Reserve Notes are awash in scarlet, most have a gold seal or small gold adornments on them which are depicted in the Revelation as, “The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold.” The fall of Babylon therefore, according to these speculators, is a future expected economic collapse of the United States of America.
If we read the Book of Revelation in its historical context and with its original recipients in mind we see that it reveals and contrasts two women. The first is judged and destroyed and the second is glorified. The first is National Ethnic Israel, the Great Whore, who murdered the Old Testament saints, persecutes the church and is being judged for breaking covenant with God and crucifying their Lord. (Revelation 1:7) The second is the bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem, who is being glorified and will reign on earth. [24]
The Old Jerusalem is referred to in the Bible as “the great City” (Jeremiah 22:8; Psalm 48:1-2; Revelation 11:8; 16:19; 17:18; 18:10, 16, 18, 21) but in the Book of Revelation her name is changed to “Babylon the Great.” (Revelation 17:5). When she is judged in the Old Testament she is referred to as a princess who has become a slave and a widow who is in mourning. (Lamentations 1:1) But when she is being judged in 70 AD she refuses to acknowledge that this is her state because she glorifies herself. (Revelation 18:7)
In the Old and New Testaments when Old Covenant Israel is unfaithful she is likened to being a pagan nation or city (a place of bondage and slavery) such as Egypt, Sodom, or Babylon for she is “where also their Lord was crucified” (Isaiah 1:10, 3:9; Jeremiah 23:14; Lamentations 4:6; Galatians 4:25-26; Revelation 11:8) For this reason in the Book of Revelation national Israel and the city capital Jerusalem is given a new name “Babylon” (Revelation 18:2, 10, 21) while the name “Jerusalem” (City of Peace) is given the bride of Christ, the Church (Galatians 4:25-26; Hebrews 12:22)
In the Old Testament when Old Covenant Israel is unfaithful she is likened to being a harlot. (Exodus 34:15-16; Leviticus 20:5-6; Numbers 15:39; 25:1; Deuteronomy 31:16; Judges 2:17; 8:27, 33; 1 Chronicles 5:25; 2 Chronicles 21:11, 13; Psalm 106:39; Isaiah 1:21; Jeremiah 2:20; 3:1, 6, 8; Ezekiel 6:9; 16:15-17, 26, 28, 30-31, 34-35, 41; 20:30; 23:3, 5, 19, 30, 44; Hosea 2:5, 3:3, 4:10, 12-15, 18; 5:3; 9:1; Micah 1:7; Nahum 3:4). Likewise in New Testament Old Testament Israel is referred to as a Harlot (Revelation 17:1). The Harlot that persecuted the prophets in the Old Testament (Luke 11:50-51) has become persecutor of the prophets of the New Jerusalem and she becomes drunk with the blood of the New Covenant saints (Acts 7:51-52; 11:19; Revelation 16:16; 17:6; 18:21, 24).
While some futurists believe that the colors and garments of the Great Whore of Babylon refer to the Vatican or some other contemporary ruler or government power, if we look to the Old Testament we see that John is using imagery that describe the Tabernacle and the wardrobe of the High Priest to identify her as national Israel and Jerusalem.
“Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.” (Exodus 26:1)
“He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also the whole altar which was by the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.” (1 Kings 6:22)
“These are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash, and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister as priest to Me. They shall take the gold and the blue and the purple and the scarlet material and the fine linen. They shall also make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of the skillful workman. It shall have two shoulder pieces joined to its two ends, that it may be joined. The skillfully woven band, which is on it, shall be like its workmanship, of the same material: of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. You shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel.” (Exodus 28:4-9)
The Harlot is described in a similar fashion:
“The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality.” (Revelation 17:4)
Clearly then, in light of the language of the Old and New Testaments the Great Whore of Babylon is national Israel who was judged in 70 AD.
The Identity of the Bride of The New Jerusalem – The New Covenant Church
Just as the Bible transitions from the Old Covenant and the Jerusalem which is below to the New Covenant and the New Jerusalem which is above (Galatians 4:25-26), so too the Book of Revelation transitions from the judgment of the unfaithful wife who is judged and stoned for her adultery (Deuteronomy 22:21; Revelation 16:21) to the new Bride of Christ which is the church who is revealed in all her glory. (Ephesians 5:24-32; Revelation 21:9) The contrasting introductions of the Old Covenant unfaithful harlot to the New Covenant bride couldn’t be any clearer:
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, ‘Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters…” (Revelation 17:1)
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’” (Revelation 21:9)
The New Jerusalem isn’t a literal city and the New Temple isn’t a building, rather it is the Church who is the bride of Jesus Christ.
The Various Views of the “Millennium”
In between the chapters which detail in symbolic language the judgment of the unfaithful Harlot, the Jerusalem below, (Revelation 4-19) and the glorious bride, the Jerusalem from above (Revelation 21-22), is a snapshot of redemptive history from beginning to end in which we find the notion of a thousand year reign of Christ – the “millennium.” (Revelation 20). While the idea of a “millennium” only appears in this one text, all of the eschatological perspectives (strangely enough) derive their names from this one passage.
There are essentially four major eschatological schemes in regards to the “millennium”: Amillennialism, Premillennialism, and Postmillennialism. Within Premillennialism there are two primary variations; Dispensational Premillennialism and Historic Premillennialism. Within Dispensational Premillennialism there are also three variations; Pretribulationalism, Midtribulationism, and Post-tribulationalism.
Premillennialism tends to interpret passages such as Daniel 9, Matthew 24, and most of Book of Revelation as depicting events that will occur in the future. It sees the current age (“The time of the Gentiles” or “Church Age”) as the reign of Satan over the earth. During this time the Church Age acts as God’s “Plan B” or “Great parenthesis” in God’s plan for national ethnic Israel. The end of this period will inaugurate a seven-year Great Tribulation. During the seven year tribulation the church is either removed from the earth (Pretribulationalism), is removed after 3.5 years of the Tribulation (Midtribulationism) or at the end of the Tribulation (Post-tribulationalism). This is referred to as “the rapture” of the Church in which all Christians (or at least those who are living the “Higher life” in Keswick theology) will be resurrected and removed from the earth to fly away with Jesus as the meet Him in the clouds. Around this time the temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem and those who do not fly away with Jesus have been “Left Behind” to suffer the reign of the Antichrist (Satan incarnate) who makes his appearance on earth and signs a covenant with National Israel as their messiah. But when he requires that everyone bear the “Mark of the Beast” 666 (which may be either a Bar Code, a computer chip or some other modern technology … the speculations are endless and constantly changing) on the their forehead or hand, National Israel will reject him as the messiah at which time he will surround Israel with his armies (which may be the USSR, Russia, China, the Muslims… the speculations are endless and constantly changing) and begin the war of Armageddon. At the end of this seven year Tribulation Jesus will return on earth with the saints with a giant city (The New Jerusalem) larger than the state of Texas, defeat the Antichrist, bind the devil and then rule for a literal thousand years from Jerusalem and reinstitute the Old Covenant order of worship including animal sacrifices. At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released who will cause a great apostasy, the Devil will finally be defeated, another bodily resurrection will take place, Judgment Day will come and everyone will be judged to spend eternity either on a new earth or in hell. [25]
Amillennialism in contrast to Premillennialism sees the “millennium” not as a literal thousand years but as that time period between the first and second coming of Christ. Some Amillennialists (such as the 16th century Protestant Reformers) have taught that the coming of the Antichrist still remains a future event or that “Antichrist” is the office of the Pope and the “Great Whore of Babylon” is Roman Catholicism. During this time Satan is “bound” in the sense that he no longer rules over the earth and the church is able to convert the nations (Gentiles) who are engrafted into the vine (which is true Israel or the church) by faith. At the end of the “millennium” Jesus will return, resurrect the saints, judge the world and cast Satan and his followers into the Lake of Fire, renew creation and begin the eternal state. However, there are also Amillennialists who take a more preterist position and believe (contrary to the original Westminster Confession of Faith) that the Antichrist, the Beast, the Great Tribulation are all historical events related to the destruction of Jerusalem. [26]
Postmillennialism has two variations. Historic Postmillennialism and Partial Preterist Postmillennialism or what might be called General Postmillennialism. Historic Postmillennialists (Puritan Postmillennialists) define the millennium as a yet future golden age marked by the conversion of the majority of ethnic Jews based on a variant interpretation Romans 11:26, “…and so all Israel will be saved.” [27] General Postmillennialism has much in common with Amillennialism in that it defines the “millennium” in the same fashion whereas Historic Postmillennialism views it as a future golden age that will begin with the widespread conversion of ethnic Jews. However, General Postmillennialism like Historic Postmillennialism has an expectation of success of the Kingdom of God in history such that the entire world will one day become predominantly Christian and the Church’s influence will convert the nations such that His Word will be the standard for governing society. [28] Although Theonomy and Reconstruction (which argue for using God’s Moral Law in both Testaments as the standard for social ethics and governing public policy) are distinctly separate issues whose merits can be ascribed to apart from Postmillennial eschatology, they do tend to go together. This is the eschatological view that I will be advocating in this chapter.
The Millennium
The only place in the entire Bible that mentions the millennium is in chapter 20 of the most figurative book in Holy Scripture. It seems strange to me that so many people would build an entire basis of all their teachings from this one obscure passage in the book of Revelation. As I discuss this passage I shall base my millennial doctrine, which is Preterist Postmillennialism, on four basic facts: (1) A literal interpretation of the time indicators which state that the events depicted are “must soon take place” and that “the time is near.” (2) A recognition that the author is using the language of the Old Testament curses for breaking the Covenant and the imagery of Old Testament prophets. (3) We must take into consideration the nature of the book of Revelation, which is that of that of an apocalyptic genre, thus it is full of certain definite characteristics such as figurative language, imagery, numerology, and hyperbole and (4) the clear teaching of other Scriptures relating to the subject matter of Revelation 20.
First, the time indicators of the Book of Revelation indicate that John is writing concerning events that he and the churches to which he wrote ought to expect would happen within their lifetime. He states that they “must shortly come to pass” (1:1) and that “the time is at hand.” (1:3) Jesus also told them “you will have tribulation 10 days” and to “hold fast till I come” (2:25), "I come quickly, hold fast” (3:11 ) “how long...yet a little while” (6:10) and “a short time” (12:12). Concerning the Roman Emperors Jesus said, “…and they are seven kings, the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a little while.” (17:10). The events being described were “shortly come to pass” (22:6) and therefore “the time is at hand” (22:10). Certainly terms like “near” or “shortly” are relative time indicators that the events described would take place within the first century, not 2,000 or more years in the future.
Second, while the time indicators ought to be understood as referring to contemporaneous events of the author, the symbolic language ought to be understood as it is used in the Old Testament. John is not using new imagery or new symbolic language; rather he is borrowing from the covenant stipulations and the prophetic books of the Old Testament particularly Leviticus, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.
Third, when one reads parabolic or apocalyptic literature one must look for the central theme or message in the passage. For example, when considering the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 the central message is the concept of who our neighbor is and how we are to treat him. One is not to take each individual part of the parable and ask what the donkey, oil, wine, priest, or two silver coins represent. Likewise when interpreting a passage from Revelation one is not to ask what each minute detail means. To do so is to miss the central message which leads to endless speculation. It has been common practice for popular “end-times” experts to lead endless speculations as to whether or not locusts are Cobra helicopters, the mark of the beast is a microchip that will be implanted in people in order to buy or sell, or whether the eagle assisting the woman is the Sixth fleet of the United States Navy as Hal Lindsey would have us to believe. While each element of the parable or passage has its value, for without them the picture being described would be incomplete and have no meaning, we should not ascribe a separate, spiritual meaning to each of these features. Rather we should ask, what is the picture being described as a whole and what is the central meaning?
Revelation 20:1-6
“And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his right hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.” (Vv. 1-3)
When we read Revelation 20 we must keep in mind that the language is highly symbolic for Satan is referred to as the “ancient serpent,” which clearly is a reference to Genesis 3:1. When we read of items such as a chain or a lock these are not literal physical locks and chains but are figurative. It is from these symbols that the reader may understand the concept that the one being bound, Satan, is in some sense restricted from his ability to deceive the nations. Another example of this symbolism is when Christ told Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). Are we to believe that Peter has literal keys to heaven? These are not to be taken as literal for to do so would lead to the picture seen in many cartoons in which the Apostle Peter is seen standing before a literal pearly gate with literal keys.
How then is Satan bound? In Old Testament times all the nations of the world, except for God’s covenant people Israel, were under Satan’s rule (Matthew 4:9). Israel alone was given God’s special revelation so that they alone knew the truth about God and their sinful condition. Unless they came in contact with God’s people they were in ignorance and in error and were subject to Satan’s dominion without hindrance (Acts 17:30).
When Christ came He established His kingdom which is presently expanding and yet is still to come (Matthew 6:10). This kingdom is spiritual and is the fulfillment of the type of David’s kingdom which was earthly. When Christ stood before Pilate he said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36). However, contrary to this passage Dispensationalists would have us to believe that Christ’s reign is to be a mere temporal earthly kingdom.
When Christ began to establish his kingdom, which John the Baptist declared to be “at hand,” He conquered Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 3:2; 4). This is why when the seventy returned to Him from their preaching mission they said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” Then Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven.” (Luke 10:17-18) If we are to take this passage literally then this fall of Satan is not future for Jesus speaks of it in the past tense.
When the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub Jesus replied, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house” (Matthew 12:28-29). The same word Jesus used to describe the binding of the strong man is the same word John used in Revelation 20 to describe the binding (Greek: deo) of Satan. Because Jesus conquered Satan in the wilderness the gospel could begin to be spread.
After Jesus ultimately conquered death and sin on the cross He could then commission the disciples to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Satan has been bound so that the gospel can spread throughout the world. This binding of the strong man, Satan, is the crushing blow which was prophesied in Genesis 3:15 to which Jesus added, “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:31-32). The verb translated in this passage as “cast out” (ekballo) is derived from the same root word used in Revelation 20:3, “...and threw (ballo) him into the Abyss.” Thus the nations can not continue to be deceived as they had been in the past as the gospel goes throughout the world without hindrance until Satan is “released” for a short period of time (Acts 28:31).
Seeing that evil still persists in the world, Premillennialists reject the idea that Satan is bound. However, the idea of being bound is not that he is without influence, but that like a dog on a chain, his sphere of influence is extremely limited. For example, the Apostle Paul was bound to a Roman soldier in prison by a chain. Are we to believe that he had no influence? In fact it was while he was bound in prison that Paul probably had his greatest influence through writing epistles (Acts 28:20; 2 Timothy 1:16). Thus we see that Satan is restricted by his chains while the gospel is not restricted though its proponents be in chains.
“I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” (v. 4)
How then are we to interpret the thousand years? First, we must note the location of the thrones. The thousand-year reign occurs where the thrones are which is in heaven. Dispensationalists on the other hand would have us to believe that the millennium occurs on earth. The thousand-year reign occurs where the disembodied souls are as he sees those who “had been beheaded.” There is yet to be any mention of a resurrection. It is these souls which reign during this present time but then after the resurrection they shall reign “for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:5). In addition, the thousand-year reign occurs where Jesus lives as we read that they “reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Where then is Christ reigning and ruling the universe? Previously, John stated in Revelation chapter 5 that he saw the Lamb of God in heaven taking the scroll from Him who sat on the throne and in chapter 12 he states that Christ was, “snatched up to God and to His throne” (v. 5). We may then conclude that the thousand-year reign takes place in heaven.
Secondly, we must note the nature of the thousand-year reign. The souls in heaven live and judge with Christ and praise him for his righteous judgments as they sing, “True and righteous are his judgments” as they sit down with him in His throne (3:21; 7:9 ff). In addition they celebrate the Lamb’s, and thus their own, victory. They reign with him and all their prayers are answered:
“(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” (vv. 5-6)
Thirdly, the thousand years is “the first resurrection.” Dispensational Premillennial Pretribulationists argue that there are multiple resurrections and that John is only referring to the resurrection of the righteous who are taken to heaven for the Wedding feast of the Lamb before a seven-year tribulation. However, the Bible clearly demonstrates that their will only be one bodily resurrection of the dead for if we read John 5:28-29 it states, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out- those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned” and Luke records Paul as stating, “I have the same hope as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked” (Acts 24:15). Finally, the prophet Daniel states, “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). All of these passages refer to the resurrection of the just and unjust as happening at the same time. If we are to read scripture literally, as Dispensationalists claim to do, then we have to assume that there will be one resurrection for there are no gaps in these passages.
How then should we understand John when he states, “...this is the first resurrection”? It must be noted that John did not see the bodies of those who had been beheaded, but their souls. The raising of the body is not mentioned until verses 11-13 as something distinct from what is described here. The contention that the resurrection in verses 11-13 is that solely of the unbelievers cannot be proved. In verse 4 the word “ezesan” (lived, or came to life) is describing the fact that the souls of the believers who have died and are now living with Christ in heaven sharing in his reign during the immediate state between death and resurrection. Some might reject that “ezesan” refers to souls living on after the death of the body maintaining that the word “zao” (the present form of ezesan ) is never used in the New Testament in this manner. However, Jesus in Luke 20 states to the Sadducees, who denied both the physical resurrection and continual existence of the soul, that God is not “the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive” (v. 38). In the clause “for to Him all are alive” (zosin, a form of zao) is not future but present thus telling us that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are in some sense alive now.
How then are we to understand the “thousand years?” The term “chilia”, meaning “thousand,” is a figurative period of time because the book of revelation is full of symbolic numbers. For example, the number seven occurs fifty-four times in the book of Revelation. There are seven lampstands, seven stars symbolizing seven angels of seven churches, seven spirits of God represented by seven lamps, seven seals, and a Lamb with seven eyes and seven horns. Seven angels blow seven trumpet blasts and seven other angels our out the contents of seven bowls full of the final seven plagues. Seven thunders utter seven voices, the beast out of the sea has seven heads, and there are seven mountains and seven kings and so on. The number seven indicates completeness.
However, since Biblical numerology is not expressly laid out in Scripture one must not go too far and treat the Bible as if it were basically a mathematical equation to be used to calculate the date of Christ’s return. Michael Wilcock states that some have used the following calculation to “prove” that the 144,000 of Revelation 7:4 is the whole number of the church of Christ:
“According to scripture, they would say, 3 is God’s number; 4 stands for creation, or the world; 3 X 4 = 12; which means the church, though God is at work in the world; 12 squared = 144, the whole church; 10 means completeness; 12 squared X 10 cubed = 144,000, the whole church and its completeness.”
Wilcock goes on to state while the Bible may authorize some of the above, we are still entitled to ask those who use such methods why ‘This means that’ for no where in the Bible does it tell us 3 X 4 means one thing while 3 + 4 means another. All we can say is that 144,000 from the context represent the church and that the 1,000 years is a figurative period of time. [29]
Therefore the millennium is a symbolic term describing this age as the period of time commencing with the first coming of Christ and the binding of Satan through the preaching of the gospel, and ending with Jesus’ return to earth in judgment at the Second Advent.
Summary of the Postmillennial View of the Millennium
Since the promises made to national Israel, David and Abraham, in the Old Testament are fulfilled by Christ and the church during this age, which is the millennium, that is the entire period of time between the two advents of our Lord. The “thousand years” are therefore symbolic of the entire inter-advental age. Satan is bound by Christ’s victory over him and the establishment of the kingdom of God via the preaching of the gospel, and Satan is no longer free to deceive the nations, through the presence of the Spirit. Near the end of time Satan will be loosed to lead a final bitter assault against the Church. Christ is reigning in heaven during this period with the martyrs who come out of the great tribulation. In the last day (singular) of these last days (plural) the second coming of Christ will bring history to its close and usher in the final state. The things commenced there will be consummated at his second coming which will be a single cataclysmic event. Christ himself will come in a literal, visible, bodily manner. At the Second Advent, several things will happen simultaneously: (1) Christ will descend from heaven with his holy angels, bringing with Him the souls of those who now sleep in Him, (2) All the graves will be opened and all the elect, both in and out of the grave, will be given resurrected bodies. (3) They then will be “raptured” (caught up) to meet the Lord in the air- for the purpose of escorting him to the earth, where the judgment will immediately take place. The separation of Matthew 25 will take place and the eternal state will begin. The earth will also be “judged,” cleansed, and completely renovated. [30]
Victory in Jesus: The Postmillennial Promise
While Amillennialists and Postmillennialists may interpret the millennium in a similar fashion, it is on the issue of the expectation of the success of the Gospel and the furtherance of the Kingdom of God that the two views become distinct.
The Amillennial view, much like the Premillennial views, expects the church to remain a mere remnant of people in the world as human society will continue to decline in history such that it will be asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) Consequently the church should expect to always be a suffering minority in the world with little influence in society. Therefore, Amillennialists argue that the focus of the Church ought not to be on having an impact in culture or the secular realm but primarily spend its energies on the private life of the Christian with the cloister of the four walls of the church until the Lord returns. The only difference between the Amillennialist and the Dispensational Premillennialist on this point is that the Premillennialist expects to escape the decline of the world via a secret rapture whereas the Amillennialist expects to have to endure the decay of the church and society until the Lord returns.
The Postmillennial view, in contrast, expects that the Kingdom of God will gradually and slowly spread like yeast in the world (Matthew 13:33), thoroughly permeating human society through the preaching of the Gospel. In doing so it will trample the gates of hell as far as the curse is found with the authority of Jesus Christ, making disciples and teaching them to obey His Word. (Matthew 16:18; 28:19-20) The result of the triumph of the Gospel will be that the majority of the nations on earth will be converted so that the entire world will be Christianized. (Matthew 24:14, Romans 16:26, Revelation 15:4) The result of the changed lives will be changed families, changed societies, changed countries and a changed world that seeks to do the will of God on earth as it is done in heaven. (Matthew 6:10). Then, after all of Christ’s earthly enemies have been laid at His footstool (Psalm 110:1; Luke 20:43; Acts 2:35; Hebrews 1:13; 10:13), Satan will be loosed for a short period of time at which time the end will come as Jesus will return bodily to conquer death (1 Corinthians 15:24-26), raise the dead and judge the remnant of rebels (Revelation 20:7-15).
In contrast to the Amillennialism and the Premillennialism, Postmillennialism is optimistic in its expectations concerning the future of the Church’s impact on society. It sees throughout redemptive history an expanding trajectory of God’s people. The Lord begins with a covenant with one man, Abraham, who is given the promise to be a father of many nations (Genesis 15:5-7; 17:3-6). He then remembers and renews that covenant with his immediate descendents in the formation of the nation Israel (Exodus 2:24; 6:4; 19:5). Although Israel sins by committing spiritual adultery with the surrounding nations, and is consequently is removed from the land during the exile, the covenant promises given to Abraham are remembered with the promise of a future new covenant in which all the nations will be gathered to God’s holy mountain which encompasses the entire earth. (Isaiah 2:1-4; Jeremiah 31:31-34).
Amillennialism and Postmillennialism can have some variances within their own eschatological spectrum, such that they can disagree or agree on a number of points and yet still be associated within their theological category.
For example, Amillennialists and Postmillennialists may be Orthodox Partial Preterists, or historicists; that is they may agree or disagree that Matthew 24 and The Book of Revelation speaks of the judgment of Israel in 70 A.D. They may or may not agree that the Beast of Revelation is Nero and they may or may not have the same definition of the “millennium,” in that it is the time period between the first and Second Advent of Christ. Some Postmillennialists, such as the Puritans, assert that the millennium is a future golden era that will begin with a dramatic conversion of ethnic Israel to Christianity. However, modern general Postmillennialists agree with Amillennialists on the definition of the millennium.
The primary distinction then between Amillennialists and Postmillennialists is on two important issues: An understanding of an expectation of the suffering of the saints in the future and the degree to which the church will either remain a mere remnant or have such a progression of growth that the world becomes predominantly Christian. The Amillennialist anticipates a decline of the church in history and an increase in the persecution of the saints or that the increase of the Kingdom of God will be paralleled with the increase of evil in the world. The Postmillennialist on the other hand anticipates continued suffering in the church but that such suffering will part and parcel of the spiritual war of the Church, the furtherance of the Kingdom of God and the conversion of the world. Therefore, while the persecution of the Church may continue it will decrease as the world becomes predominantly Christian.
It is therefore necessary to address the texts that the Amillennialist appeals to argue for the necessity of the suffering of the church in the future and the subsequent gradual decline of the Kingdom of God on earth. Afterward we will then consider the texts that speak of the triumph of the Gospel in the furtherance of the Kingdom of God.
The following are but a few New Testament texts that seem to indicate that suffering persecution and tribulations is endemic to the Christian life for all Christians throughout history:
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
“After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.’” (Acts 14:21-22)
“There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek,” (Romans 2:9)
“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Romans 8:16-17)
“For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:28)
“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,” (2 Timothy 1:8)
“Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3)
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you. But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” (1 Peter 4:12-14)
It has been estimated that in the two thousand years of the Christian faith, about 70 million believers, of whom 45.5 million or 65% lived in the 20th century, have been killed for their faith. [31] When the Amillennialist reads texts like the one’s cited above and looks at the history of the suffering of the church as well as the persecution of Christians around the world today he finds it hard to believe that the Christian life can be any different on earth in the future.
The Postmillennial understanding of these texts is that they are written to contemporaries and therefore should not be understood as universal promises for all Christians in all ages. Furthermore, the Postmillennialist sees such texts as merely indication that we are involved in a spiritual warfare in which there will be deaths and casualties, but such suffering is part of the process of conquering the world with the Gospel. Therefore, the reality of suffering in the Christian life is not contrary to the Postmillennial expectation for victory as Greg Bahnsen wrote:
“The United States won World War II, not by ourselves, but we were on the winning side. Now does anybody think this means no one from the United States ever suffered in World War II, or that we did lose any soldiers along the way, or that nobody had a hard time of it? Our soldier suffered and the German soldiers suffered, and others as well. Do you get my point here? Anybody who goes to war is going to suffer – it is a battles. But that does not mean that both sides lose. One suffering side prevails and the other suffering side does not. As postmillennialists we are not denying the suffering – we are denying that we are going to lose – we are denying that we are on the wrong side of history. We affirm and we are aware in our own live, very painfully that if you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ you will undergo persecution. You will be afflicted in this world. So we are not whistling in the dark or engaging in some kid of Pollyana wishful thinking. That is not postmillennialism.” [32]
While I agree generally with this statement, I do have to take some exception with the statement, “…if you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ you will undergo persecution.” While we all suffer from the effects of the fall, from our own sin and there are many Christians around the world living under the tyranny Communist, Islamic and other ungodly regimes who are being persecuted, I must ask, “How have I ever suffered persecution?” When I read of the suffering of Paul (“…beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep….” 2 Corinthians 11:23-25) and the persecution of the saints throughout the world today in history I find it difficult to say that the mere jeering or random taunts I may have experienced a couple times in my life in the United States worthy to be considered “persecution.” When the New Testament speaks of the suffering of the saints for their faith, such texts ought not to be understood an absolute universal promise that every Christian individual will suffer persecution. Surely we all suffer as the result of being engaged in spiritual warfare, being attacked spiritually by the devil and his minions, but that hardly counts as “persecution” of the magnitude of our Lord and the martyred saints of the Church.
What I find difficult for the Amillennialists is how they can reconcile their pessimistic expectation for the progression of the Kingdom of God and the Church’s impact on the world with the overwhelming evidence from the Old and New Testament texts which speak of the authority of Christ on earth (Mathew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-18, Luke 24:46-49, John 20:21-23), the extent of His rule (Isaiah 9:6-7; 1 Corinthians 15:24) the worldwide scope of the Kingdom of God (Isaiah 49:6; Matthew 24:14; Acts 1:7-8, 13:46-47; Romans 16:25-27; Revelation 15:4), that the Gospel and Kingdom of God permeate all of creation (Matthew 13:31-33 ), that through His church will conquer and take dominion on earth (Matthew 12:28-29; Luke 10:17-19; John 12:31; James 4:7; Revelation 6:2) and the victory of the Messiah-King and His church in history on earth (Matthew 16:18; Colossians 1:13-14). In fact, the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus will remain at the right hand of the Father until all of His enemies have been defeated, the last enemy being death. (Psalm 110:1; 1 Corinthians 15:25-26; Hebrews 1:13, 10:13) How can this entail anything less than total world domination?
The only way that one can avoid the implication of these texts is to either spiritualize the promises so that they only speak of the individual life of the Christian or to assert that they will only find their fulfillment in the eschaton on the Last Day. Only with such an interpretation can you assert that these texts do not speak of the success of Christ and the Church in history on earth, but rather only the eternal hope of the Christian in heaven.
Revelation 20:7-15- The Final Apostasy
One of the features of eschatology that is seldom mentioned and is almost ignored in Postmillennialism is an anticipation of a final apostasy and satanic rebellion towards the end of history. On the issue of a final apostasy and Postmillennialism Greg Bahnsen wrote:
“Postmillennialists believe that there will be a final apostasy – a falling away just prior to the return of Christ, and that Satan will be loosed and he will deceive the nations again. We can only speculate as to why God is going to do it that way, but in the end we are not obligated to explain the way of God. He has not told us exactly why, but He has told us that this is what He is going to do and that upon the apostasy Jesus will return in judgment of the world.” [33]
All three millennial views have an expectancy of a final apostasy. In Premillennialism the event occurs after Jesus returns bodily to the earth, reinstitutes the Mosaic economy (including animal sacrifices) has ruled “with an iron rod” and reigns for a literal thousand years from Jerusalem. In Amillennialism the event occurs as both the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan increases on earth and in the end. In Postmillennialism the Kingdom of God will increase, the kingdom of Satan will decrease and in the end he will be released to cause a final rebellion which will be trampled with the bodily return and judgment of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the significant difference in terms an expectation of the future is that in Premillennial and Amillennial eschatology the church will be a tiny remnant in a world dominated by evil when Christ returns and in postmillennial eschatology the world have been transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ such that the kingdom of Satan is a tiny remnant in the final rebellion and defeat of the serpent. The fact that it is a rebellion indicates it occurs in the context of universal Christian influence. Postmillennialists speak of the optimistic expectations of the church in history such that the world will become predominantly Christian.
The obvious questions are, “How can, particularly within a Calvinist soteriology, a predominantly Christian world rebel against Christ? And if such an event does occur, is this not a failure rather than a victory of the Gospel expected by postmillennial eschatology? And does this not negate the Calvinist doctrine of the perseverance of the saints if such a large rebellion takes place?”
What must be noted is that all three eschatological perspectives have an anticipated time period in which Christ is victorious on earth, the difference between the Premillennial and the Post/Amillennial is the anticipation of a seven year tribulation and whether Christ will be on earth before or after the long victorious reign over all the nations, whether He will be conquering while personally on earth or while ruling from heaven. All of them have an expectation of a climatic battle at the end of history at which time Satan will be loosed, an apostasy will occur, and Christ in a final judgment will defeat the devil and the hoard of apostates.
The doctrine of the final apostasy in non-Postmillennial eschatological schemes is based on Matthew 24:10-14, Acts 20:28-29, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 and 1 Timothy 4:1-3. However, all of these texts refer to events that took place within the author’s lifetime or soon thereafter as Paul stated, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.” (Acts 20:28-29) [34] There is one remaining text which some, but not all, Postmillennialists believe indicates a releasing of Satan to insight a rebellion with the remaining tares in Christ’s wheat field at the end of this present age:
“When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:7-15)
According to Loraine Boettner, Princeton Seminary theologian B.B Warfield believed that this did not indicate that there would be a resurgence of evil at the end. [35] However, most Postmillennialists believe that there will be a final apostasy, or a final rebellion, in which Satan is released and allowed to deceive the nations again at which time Christ will return bodily, judge the world, and then cast the devil and his horde into the lake of fire. Keith Mathison states:
“In Revelation 20:7-10, John sees a vision of what is to transpire at the end of the thousand years [defined as this present age]. Satan will be released and will come out to deceive the nations and gather the together for battle (vv. 7-8). John sees them surround the saints, but before they can do any damage, God destroys them with fire (v.10). The imagery of this final rebellion borrows heavily from Ezekiel’s vision of God and Magog (Ezek. 38-39). Here John uses this imagery to depict a final satanically inspired rebellion that is to occur just prior to the final judgment.” [36]
While we have a promise that the Gospel and the Kingdom of God will spread throughout the entire earth, to every tribe, tongue and nation and that the fruit of the Gospel result in a change in our societies, I do not believe that Scripture supports the idea that in the end the number of the saints will be greater than that of the lost. Yet, Keith Mathison states:
“Postmillennialism teaches that the growth of the kingdom will reach a point where the majority of men and nations have willingly submitted to the Messiah.” [37]
There are two problems for the postmillennialist who insists that the greater number will be saved than lost. First, we note that the number of those who partake in the rebellion is as great as the sand on the seashore. This phrase is used throughout the Bible to indicate that the population is not a mere remnant but is so large as to be without number and impossible to count. (Joshua 11:1-8; Judges 7:12; 1 Kings 4:20) In fact, Abraham was told by God:
“Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.” (Genesis 22:17)
After the Exodus, Israel is under the command of Moses’ successor Joshua. The Lord tells him that they will be surrounded by their enemies “as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.” (Joshua 11:4) Yet, Israel is commanded to not be afraid of them despite being outnumbered for the Lord will deliver them into their hands. (v. 8) In fact, the number of those who join Satan in the rebellion is so great that they are able surround the saints just as the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Hivites surrounded the nation of Israel. (Joshua 11:1-3)
The success of God’s war against the enemy has never been determined by having greater numbers. In fact He often reduced the numbers of His troops just to make that very point. (Judges 7:1-8) The postmillennial hope is not that the numbers of Christians will be greater than those in the rebellion. Rather, the expectation is that despite the differences in numbers the battle belongs to the Lord, who at His return will defeat Satan and his armies. Only carnal-minded American evangelicals judge the success of their ministry and the advancement of the Kingdom by counting how many heads are in the pew on Sunday morning. The fact that at the end of time the rebellion is as great as the sand of the seashore such that God’s enemies are able to surround His people (metaphorically speaking) indicates that this will be true in the end as well. Yet, because Jesus Christ and the host of heaven are greater than Satan and his minions the victory in the end belongs to the Lord.
The promise concerning the expanse of the Kingdom of God is that it will reach all tribes (families), nations and tongues and that the rulers of nation will bow before the Lordship of Christ. (Psalm 2:8; 22:27; 47:9; 72:11; Daniel 2:35; 2:44; Isaiah 9:7; 11:9; 66:23) But this does not mean that the number of true believers must out number the unbelievers or hypocrites. In fact, the great numbers of those who revolt indicate that, although the Church has permeated society and leaders have bowed the knee to Christ, in the end the people of God will be surrounded by unbelievers whose numbers are as great as the sands on the seashore and yet they will be defeated by Christ himself.
It is not necessary for the population of the church to outnumber the unbelievers to have a transforming effect on society. Salt has a great effect on food and yet its ability to permeate food and have an effect does not require that the grains of salt consist of the majority of what is being eaten. Its effect is its ability to permeate and its seasoning and preserving effect. In the same way, Christians can greatly effect and transform nations without being numerically greater by being obedient with the Word of God. (Matthew 5:13) The reason why the Church does not have a greater effect on today’s culture is not due to our lack of numbers, but our lack of faith and faithfulness.
Study Questions for Applying This Chapter
(1) How might the Dispensational doctrine of a pretribulational rapture deny any expectation of the success of the Gospel, the advancement of the Kingdom and pursuit of the cultural mandate?
(2) How does a non-Preterist understand of Revelation lead the reader to a speculative reading of the text?
(3) How might a non Postmillennial expectation for the success of the gospel effect the church’s view of missions?
(4) How might a non Postmillennial expectation for the success of the gospel effect the church’s view of cultural endeavors?
(5) How should Postmillennial expectation guide our planning for the future for the Church, our children and grandchildren?
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1] Charles C. Ryrie, Dispensationalism Today (Moody Press. Chicago, 1977). pg. 136.
[2] John Walvoord, The Millennial Kingdom (Dunham Publishing Co. Findley Ohio, 1959.), pg. 61
[3] On this subject see “Israel And The Church” in Chapter 33 - The Means of Grace: The Church.
[4] Charles C. Ryrie, Ibid (Moody Press. Chicago, 1977), pgs. 86-91.
[5] Walvoord, Ibid pg. 59
[6] Hal Lindsey, The Rapture (Bantam Books New York, 1983), pg. 30
[7] Floyd Hamilton, The Basis of Millennial Faith (Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. Grand Rapids Michigan, 1955), pg. 53-54
[8] Hal Lindsey’s book The Late Great Planet Earth was the #1 selling book of the 1970's, and was the chief promotion for such nonsense. The movie and book series Left Behind is a continuation of such absurdity.
[9] Chuck Smith (the father of the Calvary Chapel movement) asserts that 666 is a computer code that will replace cash in What The World Coming To (Word For Today, 1977), pg. 125
[10] Greg Bahnsen, Victory in Jesus: Understanding the Book of Revelation (Chapter 1), (Covenant Media Press, 1999.)
[11] See: William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1967.)
[12] Hoekema, The Bible And The Future (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), pg. 223
[13] Hoekema, Ibid pg. 226
[14] David Chilton, The Days of Vengeance (Tyler, Texas, Dominion Press, 1987), pgs. 21.
[15] David Chilton, The Days of Vengeance (Tyler, Texas, Dominion Press, 1987), pgs. 13-20. For an easy to read overview of the Book of Revelation see: Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., The Book Of Revelation Made Easy (Powder Springs, Georgia: American Vision Press, 2008)
[16] Leon Morris, The Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans), pg. 203
[17] “Antiquities,” books 18-19.
[18] Kenneth L. Gentry, The Beast of Revelation (ICE, 1989), pg. 34.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Kenneth L. Gentry, Before Jerusalem Fell (American Vision, 1988), pg.213
[21] Ibid, pg. 69
[22] Ibid, pg 218.
[23] Ibid, pg. 218.
[24] For an excellent introduction to the Book of Revelation see: Kenneth Gentry, The Book of Revelation Made Easy (Powder Springs, Georgia: American Vision Press, 2008)
[25] For a full explanation and defense of this view see: J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1958)
[26] For a more Preterist Amillennial view see: Kim Riddlebarger, A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003)
[26] For a Historic/Puritan view of Postmillennialism see: Iai Murray. The Puritan Hope: A Study in Revival and the Interpretation of Prophecy (London, UK: Banner of Truth Trust, 1971)
[27] For a Historic/Puritan view of Postmillennialism see: Ian Murray, The Puritan Hope: A Study in Revival and the Interpretation of Prophecy (London, UK: Banner of Truth Trust, 1971)
[28] For a Preterist view of Postmillennialism see: Greg Bahnsen, Victory in Jesus: Understanding the Book of Revelation (Covenant Media Press, 1999); Gary DeMar, Last Days Madness (American Vision, 1997); Kenneth L. Gentry, Perilous Times (Covenant Media Press, 1999); Keith A. Mathison, Postmillennialism: An Eschatology of Hope (P & R Publishing, 1999); R.J. Rushdoony, Thine is the Kingdom: A Study of the Postmillennial Hope.
[29] Michael Wilcock, I Saw Heaven Opened (Inter Varsity Press: Downers Grove Illinois, 1975), pg. 60
[30] Michael Wilcock, Ibid., pg. 17, William Cox, Ibid pg. 139-140.
[31] Richard H. Schmidt; Phyllis Tickle, God Seekers: Twenty Centuries of Christian Spiritualities. (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2008), pp. 281
[32] Greg Bahnsen, Victory in Jesus: The Bright Hope of Postmillennialism (Covenant Media Press, 1999), pg. 42
[33] Greg Bahnsen, Victory in Jesus: The Bright Hope of Postmillennialism (Covenant Media Press, 1999), pg. 44.
[34] See: Kenneth L. Gentry, “The Man of Lawlessness: A Preteristic Postmillennial Interpretation of 2 Thessalonians 2” http://www.cmfnow.com/articles/pt550.htm
[35] Loraine Boettner, The Millennium (P & R Publishing, 1957) pgs. 72-73.
[36] Keith A. Mathison, From Age To Age: The Unfolding of Biblical Eschatology (P & R Publishing, 2009) pg. 691; cf. Keith A. Mathison, Postmillennialism: An Eschatology of Hope (P & R Publishing, 1999), pgs. 156-157.
[37] Keith A. Mathison, Postmillennialism: An Eschatology of Hope (P & R Publishing, 1999), pg 19
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